To refurbish the functioning of all Zonal Cultural Centers (ZCC) of India, today the chairman of the committee on ZCC Mani Shankar Aiyar presented the report to the Union Cultural Minister Kumari Selja. According to the official press note released on April 11, 2011, The Ministry of Culture will be processing the recommendations of the committee to take appropriate steps to overhaul the ZCCs to further enhance their outreach. Kumari Selja would have met Prime Minister yesterday evening to apprise him of Committee’s recommendation. Today, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is on his visit to China and later to Kazakhstan. To review the functioning and performance of the seven ZCCs headquarters at Patiala, Udaipur, Nagpur, Thanjavur, Allahabad, Kolkata and Dimapur, the Ministry of Culture, vide its Resolution dated 12th August 2010, constituted a Committee on ZCCs with the Mani Shankar Aiyar as Chairperson, Dr. Sitakant Mahapatra as member and Amol Palekar as member. Terms of reference of the Committee included the following: • Examine the action taken on the recommendations made by Prof. U. R. Ananthamurthy Committee that was constituted in 1994; • Ascertain whether the ZCCs have fulfilled the objectives for which they were set up and reasons for the shortcomings, if any; • Examine whether all/some of the ZCCs need to be wound up and/or merged with some other existing body/bodies; • Suggest structural or functional changes required and any new or relevant directions which could be given to the ZCCs to improve their functioning, if they are to be continued; and • Suggest whether any expansion of the ZCCs network is called for. To promote and preserve India’s diverse cultural and traditional arts, government of India had set up seven Zonal Cultural Centers in 1985/86 News Source: Press Information Bureau Govt. of India.